The Special Collections Reading Room will be closed 10am to 1pm on Wednesday 16 September. It will then reopen until our usual closing time of 7pm.

National Library of Scotland

Collections

Explore over 61 million items. Search catalogues, browse eResources and read stories about or inspired by our collections.

Search our collections

Main catalogue

Printed, moving image, digital, and archive and manuscript collections, plus eResources and databases.
A woman standing between two long runs of book shelves stares at the old leather bound books in awe.

Map images

Over 400,000 historic maps of the UK and Ireland and beyond, in zoomable high resolution, with tools to find, compare and annotate.
Close-up photo of a map.

Archives and manuscript catalogue

Unpublished materials, from personal and writer archives to business records.
Close-up of an intricately illustrated manuscript with rich colours.

Moving Image Archive

Moving images from home movies to documentaries and from industry to entertainment.
Black and white still of a man holding a super-8 camera up to his face.

Browse digitised items and resources

Digital gallery

View a selection of digitised items from our world-class collections, including books, maps, films and more.
Two owls sitting on a branch of a tree in the woods

eResources

Access online resources to help you in work, research or leisure, wherever you live in Scotland. Find books, journals, newspapers, and much more.
Two people working together on a laptop

Data Foundry

Access datasets ready for analysis, reuse and creative exploration across text, metadata, maps and more.
Black and white photo of a large construction site with steel beams, cranes, scaffolding, and workers building a bridge.

Need help getting started?

Find out all about our collections, our catalogues, and how to use them.
Browse our guides

Stories

Explore our collections through articles, reflections and insights

Rain on screen

From Jurassic Park to archive films, discover how rain shapes stories, characters and unforgettable moments on screen.
Illustrated montage of rainy film scenes with umbrellas, puddles and falling rain. A pink ribbon across the image reads: “Is it still raining? ... I hadn't noticed.”

Reading by touch: Scotland's early tactile reading systems

Explore the history of reading by touch for blind readers in nineteenth century Scotland.
12 alternative alphabets for the blind shown on one page.

Rewriting the Rules of the Library

Artist Peter Liversidge’s new library installation invites visitors to rethink libraries as spaces of trust, curiosity and community.
Large text-based artwork mounted high on the wall of a library reading room, above wooden bookshelves and study desks, framed by tall cream-coloured columns and a high ceiling.

Mapping memory: Britain's Second Land Utilisation Survey

Two volunteers revisit their 1960s maps from the Second Land Utilisation Survey, revealing the human stories behind Britain’s land use mapping.
Several maps on a table.

Discover endless stories and resources.

Join the Library to get access to our reading rooms, visit us to get a library card, preorder books online and access our digital resources wherever you are and at anytime you need them.
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An old manuscript book open on a page showing an illustration.

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